Former Australian opener Simon Katich feels Indian captain Rohit Sharma’s Test cricket career is over. Responding to Rohit’s interview with broadcasters Star Sports on Day 2 of the SCG Test where he quashed reports of retirement by saying is “going nowhere”, Katich feels that the veteran batter has a future in stand-up comedy.
“Well, if you look at the numbers, they are damning. We saw it in this Test. It was very selfless of him to opt out of the Test. I saw in that interview, very well-spoken. There’s no doubt he has a future after he is done playing cricket in stand-up comedy because his humor was very good,” Katich told the broadcasters.
With the Border-Gavaskar series loss after a decade, India are out of World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final race. Their next Test assignment is in England where they will play a five-match series. Katich feels that Rohit may have the hunger to go on but he won’t do good against the England pacers.
“Only he knows whether he has the hunger and drive at 37 to go again. England is not going to be an easy series. England are on their way up. They have some good young quicks coming through. Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse are doing well. I dare say that will be a tough tour if he chooses to go on it and the Indian selectors pick him, first and foremost. Those numbers are not for pretty reading. Test cricket isn’t a place for 37-year-olds at the top of the order. History suggests that, and only Rohit Sharma knows whether he has got the hunger to go on,” Katich said.
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Rohit’s record in England
Rohit scored 31 runs from five innings on the Australia tour before he “stood down” for the Sydney Test. In England, the 37-year-old has played seven Tests and scored 524 runs at an average of 40.30 including one century and two fifties.
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Rohit to face English quicks in white-ball series
While the five-Test series on England soil is more than five months away, Rohit’s next major assignment is the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Before that, he will face the English quicks in the three-ODI series at home starting February 6.
